CN108471862B

CN108471862B - Material dispenser/applicator

Info

Publication number: CN108471862B
Application number: CN201680066399.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 肯·帕克特
Original assignee: Intel Plastics Inc
Current assignee: Intel Plastics Inc
Priority date: 2015-11-02
Filing date: 2016-10-27
Publication date: 2020-12-22
Anticipated expiration: 2036-10-27
Also published as: KR102626284B1; CN108471862A; CA3041638A1; KR20180096603A; WO2017078745A1

Abstract

An applicator (10) for semi-solid material (15), such as lipstick, having a base cap (12) of elastomeric material has an internal tube (31) long enough to cooperate with other structures of the applicator to allow ejection of a plunger (20) associated with the lipstick and its shaft (21) by successive depression of the base cap. This allows the lipstick to be easily replaced in the applicator when the original lipstick is depleted. The applicator also has a tubular housing (14) with an internal guide hub (39) having ribs (42) configured and positioned to prevent rotation of a shaft of the plunger (20) on which the lipstick is mounted. A dispenser (50) for flowable material, such as lotion, includes a bellows (52) mounted in a housing (51) having a base cover (54) of resilient material at one end and an end cover (62) at the other end.

Description

Material dispenser/applicator

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application is based on and claims priority from U.S. provisional application SN 62/285,570 filed on day 2, 11/2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Background and summary of the invention

The disclosure of PCT/IB2015/053286 (now U.S. national phase application SN 15/330,500 filed 2016, 9, 28) is hereby incorporated by reference. The application relates to an applicator for a semi-solid material, such as lipstick, that incorporates a number of novel features including, but not limited to, a base cap of resilient material and a plunger for receiving the semi-solid material for reciprocal movement within and relative to the housing.

According to the present invention, a number of additional features and/or enhanced functionality of the material dispenser/applicator are provided based at least in part on the application of the PCT application. In addition, a novel flowable material dispenser is disclosed.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an applicator for a semi-solid material, such as lipstick, is provided. The applicator comprises: a generally tubular housing having first and second ends; a plunger mounted with a semi-solid material extending outside the housing first end, the plunger comprising a shaft; and an elastomeric base cover mounted to the second end of the housing and having an inner structure to which the shaft is connected. The structure is configured such that by successive depressions, the resilient base cover is movable to a position causing separation between the shaft and a surface modification on the internal structure of the base cover, which provides for ejection of the plunger and its shaft from the housing.

The resilient base cover inner structure to which the shaft is connected preferably comprises a tubular portion of the base cover. An end cap (preferably transparent or translucent) is releasably connected to the housing at the first end of the housing for covering the semi-solid material. In view of the desired function of the applicator of the invention, the elastomeric base cover should have a hardness of about 45-55 (about 50 being ideal) on the Shore A scale, not the broader range of 40-70 in the PCT application.

The applicator preferably further comprises a perforated seat within the housing through which the plunger shaft reciprocates, and which acts as a stop for the internal structure of the substrate cap during ejection of the plunger shaft from the housing. The housing desirably has an internal guide hub (or apertured mount) with ribs configured and positioned to prevent rotation of the plunger shaft.

In one embodiment of the invention, the resilient material base cover is a bi-stable member that moves from a first stable configuration (in which the semi-solid material is primarily within the housing) to a second stable configuration (in which the semi-solid mass is substantially entirely outside the housing) after removal of the end cap and manual actuation of the end cap, and moves to a third position when the resilient material base cover is further manually actuated while in the second stable configuration, whereby the plunger shaft is ejected from contact with the resilient base cover. In another embodiment, the base cover is only moved from its normal position to the ejected position and is not bistable.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided an applicator for semi-solid material, comprising: a generally tubular housing having first and second ends; a plunger mounted with a semi-solid material extending outside the housing first end, the plunger comprising a shaft; and an inner guide hub having ribs configured and positioned to prevent rotation of the plunger shaft. End caps of certain elastomeric materials as described above may also be utilized.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of using an applicator as described above to eject a plunger having a majority of the spent semi-solid material and replace it with another replacement plunger having a fresh supply of semi-solid material by inserting the shaft of the replacement plunger into operative association with the internal structure/tube of the elastomeric end cap.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a dispenser for dispensable material comprising: a generally tubular housing having first and second ends; a structure containing or supporting dispensable material, comprising a shaft having a first surface form thereon; a resilient material substrate cover at the second end of the housing and having a generally central structure having a second surface form releasably operatively cooperating with the first surface form; the resilient material base cap is operable to move to a position to move the shaft to obtain dispensable material from a structure containing or supporting the dispensable material at the first end of the housing when the resilient material base cap is depressed; and a stop mechanism within the housing for stopping movement of the generally central structure of the substrate cover such that when the substrate cover is continuously depressed, the first and second surface forms are broken such that the structure containing or supporting dispensable material is removable from the housing and replaceable by the structure containing or supporting fresh dispensable material.

The structure containing the dispensable material can include a bellows containing the flowable material mounted within the housing and having a dispensing nozzle adjacent a first end of the housing. The dispenser also preferably includes an end cap for releasably closing a first end of the housing through which the flowable material is dispensed by the dispensing nozzle. The end cap preferably includes a first portion that screws onto the housing and a second portion that is connected to the first portion by a living hinge and pivots to expose and cover the dispensing nozzle.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an applicator or dispenser having an easily replaceable material application or dispensing member. This and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention and the appended claims.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is an exploded side cross-sectional view of an applicator of a semi-solid material (such as lipstick or lipstick, per se shown in phantom) according to the present invention having what may be referred to as an "eject button" that allows easy separation of the plunger shaft from the elastomeric base cover to allow easy replacement of the cylinder of semi-solid material (as per se disclosed in said PCT application);

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the applicator of FIG. 1 assembled with components other than the end cap unscrewed from the housing in a first position (in which much of the semi-solid material is within the housing);

fig. 3 is a view like that of fig. 2, where the bistable substrate cover has been moved to a second position in which the semi-solid material is substantially completely outside of the housing;

FIG. 4 is a view like that of FIG. 3, only the semi-solid material being shown substantially depleted and showing the ejector button on the base cover being further depressed from the second position to a third position such that the elastomeric end cap is separated from the plunger shaft such that a new plunger having a quantity of fresh semi-solid material can be inserted in operative association with the elastomeric end cap;

FIG. 5 is a view like that of FIG. 1 of a second configuration of an applicator according to the present invention having a shorter housing and in which the elastomeric substrate cover is not bistable;

FIG. 6 is a view like that of FIG. 2 of a second configuration of the applicator;

FIG. 7 is a view like that of FIG. 4 of a second configuration of the applicator;

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of an exemplary housing of the applicator of FIGS. 1-4;

FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view of the housing of FIGS. 1-4 and 8 rotated 90 degrees from the view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional exploded view of a flowable material dispenser shown in elevation using a resilient base cap and housing similar to those of the embodiments in the other figures and in the PCT application but with a bellows with an associated shaft containing flowable material in place of a plunger mounting a block of semi-solid material;

FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view of the assembled dispenser of FIG. 10 with the end cap open to allow dispensing of the flowable material;

FIG. 12 is a view like that of FIG. 11 with the base cap slightly depressed to dispense flowable material from the bellows; and

FIG. 13 is a view like that of FIG. 12, showing only the end cap fully removed, the bellows depleted, and the base cap moved to a position in which the bellows shaft is separated from the base cap so that the bellows and shaft can be ejected and replaced with a new replacement bellows and shaft.

Detailed description of the drawings

The applicator 10 according to the invention in fig. 1-4 is very similar to the applicator in said PCT application, comprising a screw-on end cap 11, a base cap 12 of an elastomeric material, a tubular housing 14 and a reciprocating plunger 20 with a plunger shaft 21 mounting a semi-solid material, such as lipstick shown in broken lines at 15. The housing 14 has a first end 16 and an opposite second end 17. The components may be made of the same materials as in said PCT application.

In the applicator 10 of fig. 1-4, the central tube 31 (comparable to the

central tubes

31, 131 in the PCT application), which releasably connects the base cap 12 to the end 22 of the plunger shaft 21 opposite the semi-solid material 15, is longer than in the PCT application. In a practical embodiment, the central tube 31 is about 2-3mm (e.g., about 2.5mm) longer. This increased length allows the applicator to function such that the plunger 20 and shaft 21 can "pop" out of the housing 14, allowing for easy use of a replacement barrel once all of the semi-solid material 15 has been used up.

The end 22 of the plunger shaft 21 has a first surface form, shown in the drawings at 24 as a circumferential recess in the end 22 of the shaft 21, which operatively cooperates with a second surface form 25 on the tube 31, the element 25 being best seen in fig. 1 and 4. The second surface form 25 is in the form of a circumferential projection which is placed into the recess 24 to hold the

elements

21, 31 together during normal operation and until separation thereof is required. While forms 24, 25 as shown are preferred, any other surface form may be provided that performs the intended function of releasably attaching the shaft 21 to the base cover 12.

Furthermore, in the applicator 10 according to the present invention, it was found that the resilient material of the base cover 12 should have a hardness of about 45-55 on the Shore A scale (about 50 being highly desirable), not 40-70 in said PCT application. A durometer of about 50 allows the substrate cover 12 to remain bistable, yet effectively move to the third, ejected position, during which the surface forms 24, 25 separate.

Once the end cap 11 is removed (preferably by unscrewing it, as in fig. 1-4), the semi-solid material 15 associated with the plunger 20 is exposed, but typically much of the semi-solid material does not extend out of the first end 16 of the housing 14, as seen in fig. 2. A human user may use her/his finger to engage the outer surface 19 of the substrate cover 12 (which may be considered an eject button) and push it from a first stable position shown in fig. 2 to a second stable position shown in fig. 3, in which substantially all of the material 15 is outside of the first end of the housing 14. That is, as in the PCT application, the cover 12 is bistable.

During the movement of the base cover 12 from the first position of fig. 2 to the second position of fig. 3, the plunger shaft 21 is guided by a centrally located guide hub 39, which may also be considered a perforated seat. In the position of the base cover 12 in fig. 3, the central tube 31 engages the centrally located guide hub 39 of the reciprocating motion of the guide shaft 21, stopping the motion of the tube 31.

If the depression of the base cover 12 by the user's finger continues from the position of fig. 3 to the position of fig. 4, the end 22 of the plunger shaft 21 will separate from the tube 31 of the base cover 12, as the plunger shaft 21 will remain moved, but the base cover 12 will be stopped by the hub 39. Thus, as in fig. 4, the shaft 21 and the plunger 20 attached to the shaft 21 will be separated from the rest of the applicator 10, as the surface forms 24, 25 will be separated from each other, so that a new cylinder containing a new plunger 20 and plunger shaft 21 with fresh semi-solid material 15 attached thereto can be replaced by inserting a new shaft end 22 into the central tube 31 when the base cap 12 is in the position in fig. 4. When inserting the replacement plunger, the resilient tube 31 of the resilient material base cap 12 is deflected such that the surface forms 24, 25 engage each other and a new shaft 21 is attached to the base cap 12.

Note that during the ejection process, i.e., moving from the second position of fig. 3 to the third ejection position of fig. 4, typically the first end 16 of the housing 14 will be angled downward (or fully face downward) such that gravity will assist in the separation of the old plunger 20 from the base cap 12.

During insertion of a new plunger with fresh lipstick or the like 15, the user desirably holds the base cap 12 in the position of fig. 4 while the user (preferably but not necessarily, the end cap 11 is over the material 15, but engages the circumferential periphery 23 of the top of the plunger 20 rather than the material 15 itself) pushes the end 22 of the shaft 21 into operative association with the center tube 31 of the base cap 12. Once the shaft end 22 is sealed, the user removes her/his finger from the exterior 19 of the base cap 12 and continues to move the end cap 11 toward the housing 14, and finally screws it in place so that the end cap 12 and plunger 20 are in the position shown in fig. 2.

The applicator 110 of fig. 5-7 is similar to the applicator of fig. 1-4, except that the housing 114 and shaft 121 are shorter and the end cap 112 is not bistable. Parts corresponding to those of the embodiment of figures 1-4 are shown with the same reference numerals, but preceded by a "1".

In fig. 6, the base cap 112 is in its normal position (once the end cap 111 is removed), the lipstick 115 extends outwardly from the first end 116 of the housing 114. Once the lipstick 115 is substantially depleted (as schematically illustrated in fig. 7), the user pushes on the outer surface 119 of the base cover 112 to move it to the ejected position. During this sequence to the position shown in fig. 7, the surface forms 124, 125 on the end 122 of the shaft 121 and the central tube 131 of the base cover 112, respectively, are separated from each other, since the movement of the tube 131 is stopped by the perforated support 139. Replacement of a new plunger 120 with fresh material 115 is described above with respect to the embodiment of fig. 1-4.

Preferably, as best shown in fig. 8 and 9, the housing 14 includes internal ribs 42 associated with the guide hub/apertured seat 39 to prevent rotation of the plunger 21; rotation may otherwise occur, for example, when the seal (if it exists) between the semi-solid material 15 and the end cap 11 is broken when the end cap 11 is unscrewed from the first end 16 of the housing 14. The rib 42 engages a portion of the periphery of the plunger (which may have the configuration of the plunger 121 shown in figure 7 of the PCT application) to prevent it from rotating/turning.

The housing 114 may also have ribs 42 as described above, the housing 114 being substantially identical to the housing 14 except that it is shorter.

Fig. 8 and 9 show four ribs 42 symmetrically located around the inner circumference of the circular opening in the guide hub 39 and showing their "upper" (closest to the substrate cover) end faces 43 sloping downwardly in fig. 9 (so that the ribs 42 themselves have a generally triangular cross-section). However, other numbers (e.g., three or five) and/or configurations in cross-section (e.g., square, multiple, or random) may be provided.

Fig. 10-13 illustrate a material dispenser 50 that differs in type from the material dispensers in the other figures but uses the same general concept of a tubular housing, end caps, and an elastomeric base cap. Different numbers will be used instead of relating to other figures.

The dispenser 50 is provided for dispensing flowable materials (e.g., liquids) such as, but not limited to, lotions, eye drops or other medical or medical fluids, flavor concentrates for flavoring ingestible liquids (e.g., water, toothpaste, and lubricants). Located inside the generally tubular housing 51 is a bellows 52 made of a generally conventional bellows elastic material operatively connected at its closed end by a connected (preferably integral) shaft 53 to a central inner tube 57 of an elastic base cover 56 at a second end 55 of the housing 51. In other embodiments, the base cover 56 preferably has a center tube 57 like

tubes

31, 131, and in other embodiments, the first surface form 58 on the shaft 53 and the second surface form 59 in the tube 57 are like surface forms 24, 124, 25, 125.

Inside the housing 51 is an internal guide hub/apertured seat 61 having an internal opening 62 defined by a ferrule that guides the reciprocating motion of the shaft 53.

The end of the bellows 52 opposite the shaft 53 has a conventional dispensing nozzle 64 therein which is dimensioned according to the particular flowable material to be dispensed and may include a conventional one-way valve.

A first end 66 of the housing 51 opposite the resilient base cover 56 may be closed by an end cap 67. In the preferred embodiment shown in fig. 10-13, the end cap 67 includes a hollow generally tubular first portion 68 having external threads 69 (best seen in fig. 10 and 13), the external threads 69 threaded onto conventional complementary internal threads 70 (fig. 10) on the first end 66 of the housing 51. End cap 67 further includes a solid terminating second portion 72 connected to first portion 68 by a living hinge 73 (fig. 11 and 12). Any suitable closure (e.g., clip, magnet, snap) may be provided for holding the second portion 72 to the first portion 68 when the dispenser 50 is in the non-dispensing position, wherein the

elements

68, 72 are connected as in fig. 10 and 13.

In operation of the dispenser 50, the second portion 72 of the end cap 67 is separated from the first portion 68 and pivoted via the living hinge 73 to the relative position shown in fig. 11 and 12. To dispense the flowable material within the bellows 52, the user depresses the elastomeric base cap 56, causing the bellows 52 to compress and the flowable material therein to be dispensed through the nozzle 64. Fig. 11 shows the dispenser 50 in a position just prior to depression of the elastomeric substrate cover 56, while fig. 12 shows the bellows 52 partially compressed in response to depression of the substrate cover 56.

Once the bellows 52 is substantially empty, the end cap 67 is unscrewed from the housing 51 (fig. 13). The end cap 56 is then pressed further down to the position of fig. 13, wherein the movement of the tube 57 is stopped by the abutment 61. This causes separation of the surface forms 58, 59, allowing the shaft 53 and bellows 52 to be easily removed from the housing 51, as with the other embodiments of fig. 4 and 7. The new bellows 52 may be inserted with its shaft 53 moved into operative engagement with the central inner tube 57 of the base cap 56 such that the surface forms 58, 59 are operatively engaged such that the base cap 56 is operatively connected to the new bellows 52.

The entire dispenser 50 is preferably made of dishwasher safe and environmentally friendly plastic.

It will thus be seen that there is a general similarity between the various embodiments, which generally include a dispenser for dispensable material (semi-solid such as lipstick or flowable material such as lotion) having: a structure (20, 52) containing or supporting dispensable material, including a shaft (21, 53) having a first surface form (24, 58) thereon; an elastomeric substrate cover (12, 56) having a generally central structure (31, 57) with a second surface form (25, 59) releasably operatively cooperating with the first surface form (24, 58); -when the resilient material base cap (12, 56) is depressed, the resilient material base cap is operatively moved to a position to move the shaft (21, 53) to obtain dispensable material from a structure (20, 52) containing or supporting the dispensable material at the first end (16, 70) of the housing (14, 51); and a stop mechanism (39) within the housing (14, 51) for stopping movement of the generally central structure (31, 57) of the substrate cover such that when the substrate cover is continuously depressed, the first and second surface forms (24, 25; 58, 59) are broken such that the structure (20, 52) containing or supporting the dispensable material is removable from the housing (14, 51) and replaceable by the structure containing or supporting fresh dispensable material.

The present invention is to be accorded the widest scope possible consistent with the appended claims to cover all equivalent structures, devices, and processes limited only by the prior art.

Claims

1. An applicator for semi-solid material, comprising: a generally tubular housing having a first end and a second end; a plunger mounted with a semi-solid material extending outside the housing first end, the plunger including a shaft having a first surface form; a resilient material base cap mounted to the second end of the housing and having an internal structure comprising a second surface form releasably engaging the first surface form such that by continued depression of the resilient material base cap, the resilient material base cap is movable to a position disengaging the first and second surface forms, which in turn allows the plunger and its shaft to be ejected from the housing.

2. The applicator of claim 1, wherein the inner structure of the elastomeric substrate cover to which the shaft is connected comprises a tubular portion of the elastomeric substrate cover.

3. The applicator of claim 1 or 2, further comprising an end cap releasably connected to the housing at the first end of the housing for covering the semi-solid material.

4. The applicator of claim 1, wherein the elastomeric base cover has a hardness of 45-55 on the shore a scale.

5. The applicator of claim 1, further comprising a perforated seat within the housing through which the plunger shaft reciprocates and which acts as a stop for the internal structure of the elastomeric substrate cover during ejection of the plunger shaft from the housing.

6. The applicator of claim 3, wherein the resilient material base cover is a bistable element that moves from a first stable configuration in which the semi-solid material is predominantly within the housing to a second stable configuration after removal of the end cap and manual actuation of the end cap, in which second stable configuration the semi-solid mass is substantially entirely outside the housing, and moves to a third position when the resilient material base cover is further manually actuated while in the second stable configuration, whereby the plunger shaft is ejected from contact with the resilient material base cover.

7. The applicator of claim 1, wherein the housing has an internal guide hub having ribs configured and positioned to prevent rotation of the plunger shaft.

8. The applicator of claim 3, wherein the semi-solid material is lipstick, and wherein the end cap is transparent or translucent.

9. A method of using the applicator of claim 1 to eject a plunger having a majority of the spent semi-solid material and replace the plunger having a majority of the spent semi-solid material with another replacement plunger having a fresh supply of semi-solid material by inserting a shaft of the replacement plunger into operative association with the internal structure of the elastomeric substrate cover.

10. A dispenser for dispensable material, comprising: a generally tubular housing having a first end and a second end; a structure containing or supporting dispensable material, the structure containing or supporting dispensable material comprising a shaft having a first surface form thereon; a resilient material substrate cover at the second end of the housing and having a generally central structure having a second surface form releasably operatively cooperating with the first surface form; said resilient material base cap being operable to move to a position to move said shaft to obtain dispensable material from said structure containing or supporting dispensable material at said first end of said housing when said resilient material base cap is depressed; and a stop mechanism within the housing for stopping movement of the generally central structure of the resilient material substrate cap such that when the resilient material substrate cap is continuously depressed, the first surface form and the second surface form are broken such that the structure containing or supporting dispensable material is removable from the housing and replaceable by a structure containing or supporting fresh dispensable material.

11. The dispenser of claim 10, wherein the structure containing dispensable material comprises: a bellows containing a flowable material mounted within the housing and having a dispensing nozzle adjacent the first end of the housing; and an end cap for releasably closing the first end of the housing through which the flowable material is dispensed by the dispensing nozzle.

12. The dispenser of claim 11, wherein the end cap includes a first portion that screws onto the housing and a second portion that is connected to the first portion by a living hinge and pivots to expose and cover the dispensing nozzle.